


After the Train

by DippeySause



Category: Infinity Train (Cartoon)
Genre: Atticus is mentioned, Nightmares regarding episode 8 mentioned, One Shot, So is Mirror Tulip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:35:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21761566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DippeySause/pseuds/DippeySause
Summary: A week after Tulip gets off the train, she has a conversation with her mom regarding her nightmares.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 126





	After the Train

**Author's Note:**

> I literally wrote this the day after season 1 ended. So...enjoy.

“Morning, Mom.”

“Morning, bud.”

Megan puts a bowl of cereal on the table in front of Tulip, then takes the programming book out of her hands.

“Hey!”

“No reading at the table; you know the rules.”

Tulip sighs and picks up her spoon. Honestly, she doesn’t care all that much; it feels good to be back home, where there are consistent rules that make sense and she knows.

Megan puts Tulip’s book on the kitchen counter before joining her at the table.

“Hey, Tulip?”

The redhead looks up from her breakfast. “Yeah?”

“I want you to be honest when I ask you this, okay?”

“Uh, okay? This better not be a puberty thing.”

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

Tulip looks at her for a few seconds before laughing. “What? No! What makes you think that?”

“I heard you yelling someone’s name last night and got worried. Atticus, I think.”

Tulip can feel the grin fall from her face as she turns back to her cereal. Of course. Of course she was sleep-talking when she saw Atticus’ transformation last night in dream land.

“Tulip?”

“I don’t have a boyfriend, Mom. I was just having a nightmare.”

“Oh, bud. You’ve had a lot of those this week.”

She doesn’t need reminding. While the Train had its ups, the downs seem stubbornly ingrained in Tulip’s head. She doesn’t think there was one night when she hadn't woken up from a nightmare. She’d told her mom about a few of them, but she didn’t think she’d _heard_ any of them.

Tulip shrugs and forces down another spoonful of cereal, even though she doesn’t really feel all that hungry any more.

“I’m fine,” she lies. “Just, processing being home, is all.”

Megan reaches across the table for her hand. “Tulip, if you need someone to talk to, I’m here for you.”

She nods and catches her reflection in her spoon—or rather, the lack thereof. It's still weird to not see Mirror Tulip staring back at her in reflective surfaces.

_“You never ask for help.”_

Of course thinking of her reflection brings that conversation to mind. She had kinda indirectly promised her reflection and herself that she’d do better about asking for help when she needs it.

“Mom?”

“Yes?”

But, who would believe a barely-teenager about being trapped on an infinite train with robots and talking animals and reflections that have their own personalities?

“I love you."

“I love you too, bud.”


End file.
